Midwest to cut 1,200 jobs

[GOULET!]

Midwest Airlines to cut 1,200 jobs

Midwest Air Group Inc. said today it will lay off 1,200 employees - 40% of the company's work force - because of coming schedule reductions forced by record-high jet fuel prices.

Oak Creek-based Midwest Air, which operates Midwest Airlines and the Midwest Connect regional carrier, is cutting jobs throughout the company's operations, in all work groups, spokesman Michael Brophy said.

The job cuts, scheduled to occur no later than mid-September, come as no surprise.

In June, the company said it was phasing out a dozen MD-80 jets used for charter service as well as regular passenger service to leisure destinations and West Coast cities. The MD-80s, which make up roughly one-third of the Midwest Airlines fleet, use a lot more fuel than the carrier's 25 Boeing 717 jets.

Some of those Boeing jets can be shifted to replace the MD-80s. But the Boeing aircraft don't have the range of the MD-80s. And that means current nonstop departures from Milwaukee to Pacific Coast cities such as Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, Calif., would likely be replaced with routes that stop at the Midwest Airlines hub in Kansas City, Mo.

Midwest Air executives later said in meetings with employees that they were planning to ground five of the Boeing 717s. That would cut the entire fleet by about half. With major service cuts coming in the carrier's fall schedule, one consultant estimated earlier this month that 1,100 of Midwest Air's 3,065 employees could be fired.

Today's announced job cuts come on top of 380 jobs cut this spring when the company hired Utah-based SkyWest Airlines Inc. to handle all Midwest Connect regional carrier flights, a move designed to save money.

Midwest Air is cutting service and taking other steps to restructure the company and avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company also is seeking steep wage cuts from its union flight crews, but those proposals have run into opposition from the pilots and flight attendants.

Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA), AirTran Airways (AAI), Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and other airlines have announced major service and job cuts because of high jet fuel prices. But Midwest Air critics say the company's problems have been worsened by management missteps, which includes not replacing the MD-80s with more efficient jets years ago.

 

[FastestPA31Ever]

I guess this shows just how little I know about airlines and airliners - a 717 can't make it from Milwaukee to the west coast?!?

 

[Donsa320]

I guess this shows just how little I know about airlines and airliners - a 717 can't make it from Milwaukee to the west coast?!?

I see it on the MKE-SEA non-stop quite frequently but I gather that would be problemmatical in the winter.

DC

 

[maxblast72]

The B717 holds about 24,500 lbs of fuel max. Figure about 6,000 lbs burn the first hour and about 5,000 lbs every hour thereafter. About 3.5 hr flighttime is about as high as you are going to see.

Some of the longer routes I have seen the B717 used for at Airtran are, ATL-DEN, BWI-DFW, MCO/TPA-MSP, and BOS-MCO. I did the BWI-DFW once with a 150 kt headwind. I was glad we didn't need an alternate.

 

[CitationLover]

I see it on the MKE-SEA non-stop quite frequently but I gather that would be problemmatical in the winter.

DC

did the SEA turn once, my butt was sore.

at least you can play battleship vor in the secondary flight plan.

 

[NuGuy]

The B717 holds about 24,500 lbs of fuel max. Figure about 6,000 lbs burn the first hour and about 5,000 lbs every hour thereafter.

Is this correct? Heck, a DC-9 does about the same.

Nu

 

[FlyWolf]

I remember doing MKE-PHX once with over 100 kts headwind, almost declared min fuel on a very long downwind vectors.

 

[eightdriver]

LAX, SFO, SEA can only be done nonstop by the -80. Usually we do them with the -88's because of the aux fuel tanks.

 

[CaptJax]

Midwest To Slash Work Force Bt 40 Percent

Midwest Air to slash work force by 40 percent


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Midwest Airlines, a unit of Midwest Air Group, on Monday said it would cut its work force by 1,200 employees, or 40 percent, making it the latest airline to reduce staffing amid soaring fuel prices.

The company said it would begin notifying affected employees immediately. Midwest also said it was still in talks with unions representing its pilots and flight attendants on concessions needed to lower costs.

Milwaukee-based Midwest Air Group was taken private this year by an affiliate of TPG Group.

The downsizing is consistent with a trend throughout the troubled airline industry. Carriers -- large and small -- are cutting capacity and staff to offset fuel bills, which have risen alongside cruel oil prices (CLc1) to record highs.

"In order to successfully restructure, there is no way to avoid deep and painful reductions to our current work force," said Timothy Hoeksema, Midwest's chief executive officer, in a statement.

The reductions are related to the airline's previously announced decision to pull its 12-plane MD-80 fleet from service this fall and will take the form of furloughs or position eliminations, depending on job function, the company said.

The airline also has tapped into new revenue streams by charging fees for items that once were complimentary. In May, Midwest began charging $20 to check a second bag. Some airlines, like UAL Corp's (UAUA.O) United Airlines, now charge to check a single bag.

Midwest flies to the East and West Coasts and to destinations in between, from Milwaukee and Kansas City.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson; editing by John Wallace and Gerald E. McCormick)

07/14/08 14:37 ET

 

[Redmeat]

I love how denial works.

Midwest just announced they're slashing nearly half the company work force (including pilots) and everyone on here is arguing about fuel burns.

Pilots...

The dumbest smart people...